In Qatar, tentacles of tribalism hold back national aspirations

I remember reading a blog post about the perceived nationality-based class system in Qatar. According to the author, Qataris alongside Americans, were placed at the top of the social hierarchy – something that most commentators agreed to, and understandably so. However, whilst reading it, I was frustrated, not because I thought it was inaccurate, but rather because I thought that it was a seemingly simplistic overview of the inherent racial hierarchy that exists within Qatar. Even within Qatari society, there exists a hierarchy, a claim I’m certain some of my fellow citizens would scoff at. Nevertheless, it is a widely acknowledged, albeit surreptitiously discussed truth amongst us.

Tribalism is an inextricable facet of Qatari society, which doesn’t just affect the way we value ourselves within the tribal hierarchy, but also affects us in a multitude of other ways, influencing decisions and choices in our everyday lives.

One glaring example is the glass ceiling that exists in terms of careers in certain fields, for it is not always on merit that a person will be eligible to certain posts; it is ultimately his/her tribal affiliation, which will create the required wasta.

If tribalism rears its ugly head in the public sphere, one can only imagine how much worse it gets while governing personal lives.

The very basis of tribes and tribalism is to form communities based on common cultural and ethnic interests. However, as a nation state evolves, to continue to adhere to tribalism at the cost of national interests would only create divisiveness.

Within the personal sphere, discrimination that stems from tribalism still prevails. In the issue of marriage for instance, it is typical in arranged marriages to search for a spouse with the tribe as the main criteria, overlooking other important factors, such as compatibility, level of education, moral values, etc. Conversely, many Qataris who would prefer to make their own choices in marriage are reluctant to do so for fear of backlash from their family and social circle if they don’t marry into the “right” tribe; the price of personal freedom is too high and not worth the hassle. Interestingly, few will dispute the fact that the increasing number of Qatari women who remain unmarried is to a significant degree correlated to this issue as many girls do not or cannot marry into other families.

Why stir the pot about us not being equal when we are generally more affluent and enjoy more rights than the majority?

But these privileges bestowed upon us should not inhibit us from addressing this important issue, as it not only affects how we treat each other, but translates to how we treat others who are less fortunate than us. After all, it is not merely a social issue, but it is one that’s contrary to our religious beliefs.

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Indeed Allah has removed from you the blind loyalties of Jahiliyah and the pride for ancestry. Either be a pious believer, or a miserable proud. (All of) you are children of Adam (alaihi as-salâm) and Adam (alaihi as-salâm) is from dust. Let some men cease to take pride in others who are nothing but burning coals for the Hell-Fire, it will be easier for Allâh to handle them than a dung-beetle driving his nose into filth.” [Abu Dawûd and Ahmad].

Religion aside, how does tribal biases help Qatar, as it strives towards a knowledge-based economy? How does it hope to achieve that dream, in a society that predetermines a person’s worth and accomplishments based on their bloodline?

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Nasser, I applaud you! I applaud you for bringing to light our very serious pitfalls in our societies. I am a Saudi woman living in Qatar and being part of the tribal hierarchy (only by name) I stand with you on what you outline. I pulled away from the tribalism and I went against what was expected of me, the result, I am outcast from Saudi society in its entirety and only accepted by my immediate family but that even with much struggle and obstacles.

Too many of us, young and old, fail to recognize the dangers of division within our societies. Saving face and staying loyal to our ancestors seems to supersede progress and happiness. Our choices to divide one another, by name, by tribe, by blood, is outrageous at best and unislamic at worst. As a society, a nation, as a region, we need to fight this self-imposed hierarchy at all costs because the price is to high to pay if we continue down this path of self-destruction.

Many nations have levels of influence such as the tribalism in Qatar. From what I hear Qatar also has institutionalized tribalism, with slightly different inclusion/exclusion lines, with 6 different passport categories, each which has a different set of legal rights attached to it. Then there’s Qatari’s who were born and raised outside of Qatar and return in their 20’s. And Qatari’s who study overseas. It’s easy for residents to assume Qatari’s form a united front because to them they do. Cousins against foreigners. Brothers against cousins. Brother against brother. Social hierarchy is always multi-faceted and always worthy of public discussion. Thanks for starting the conversation Nasser.

Thank you for this interesting insight. Unfortunately the disease of tribalism is prevalent across the Arab and Muslim world and, as you rightly ask, how does this help Qatar or any other nation? The only thing that ever united the warring tribes across the Arabian Peninsula and the only thing that ever united the caste-based society across the Indian Subcontinent was Islam. The Aws and the Khazraj; the Ansar and the Muhajireen; the Arabs and the Persians, the Asians and the Europeans: only under Islam did they unite. And it was this unity based on their creed that caused them to prosper and lead the world, scientifically, philosophically, economically and militarily.

Jubair ibn Mut’im reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “He is not one of us who calls to tribalism; he is not one of us who fights for tribalism; he is not one of us who dies for tribalism.”

Tribalism is an international issue. However, unfortunately, tribalism has its greatest presence in the Arab region and it’s holding us back – amongst other things. The question is how do we tackle it? Education is key! But that’s a whole other story.

P.S: Nasser, well-done! It’s very courageous of you to write this. Well-written I must add. I never knew you were such a great writer. Journalism and the media industry in Qatar needs more people like you! For this article to have a deep impact, it needs to be published in Arabic as well.

I read this article twice now and I really can’t believe what I’m reading! what has this got to do with us being a knowledge based community! everyone has a brain, use it to think, and to forward as a country. why do we need to change our culture to develop, development can happen in many other ways without abolishing our culture. This is part of our culture we as the “original” qataris, know exactly who we go back to till the day of our prophet ibrahim (alaih w alsalam)! and how do you want us to mix with people with no roots! you’d call that discrimination but then again expats are discriminating our culture. If a man from the UK or the U.S or whatever country he came from and converted to islam and asks to marry a qatari we wouldn’t accept it! its not part of our culture even though our religion accepts it. Like how every country has their own culture and everyone respects and accepts it why don’t you accept ours? why does the respect change when seeing the middle eastern cultures. Don’t act like you accept what he’s saying when you accept other crazier and immoral cultures and respect their protocol.

We accept everyone however we do not mix, god made us in groups whether you like it or not (hierarchy). we respect everyone as human being.

however there are lines that cannot be crossed.

what if tomorrow he writes an article like why don’t we marry from the royal family?! haha I’d like to read about that!.

And for your information Al Naama family originally comes from the persian gulf and has nothing to do with the arabian peninsula and if you were a qatari you would understand why he’s writing stuff like this. Expats would never understand unless a qatari explains to him/her thoroughly what is the meaning behind this article.

I’m really proud of Nasser for writing this article, because it is a sensitive topic and it should be discussed. I believe if something is part of a culture, it should be something that we are all proud of. However, something like a person is expected to marry someone just because they carry the same family name or part of a group that is “Qatari” should not be considered something that is part of our culture (in my opinion) because it’s not something i believe in. Who is benefitting from it? The husband who was forced to marry her because she carried that name, or the wife? At the end of the day, we’re all human beings! Whether you’re an expat or a Qatari. Just because you believe that it is how it should be, that’s fine, you can live your life that way, but i personally don’t and i think the majority of the country don’t because there are stats that prove there is a decrease in women who are interested in getting married because of this particular issue.
Great job, Nasser!

However islam teaches us that we are made in levels. in front of god we are equal but in front of each orher we are not. Meaning that we all came from one soil but are in levels if you dont accept this fact why dont you accept communism?! Then we will all be literally equal through income social class etc…

We arent stuck up as you say but in our CULTURE (remember that) we cannot mix an original female with a person that has no roots. Men can because in the end the children has the fathers name.

And then again you will not understand the point of this article unless an original qatari thoroughly explains to you what is the true meaning behind this article. [Ugly truth for some but its the truth]

We are far from stuck up honostly to say but our culture does not approve of it. And what makes certain tribes think they are better than any other tribes we dont. But again its like a western man converting and asking to marry a qatari. We will not accept! Because they will lose their culture and their roots.

And if you want to call that discrimination or racism then thats a double edged sword because again you are discriminating our culture.

Finally i dont belive that any expat will understand until you live with a qatari and ubderstand its culture and we accept that even though you dont.

QATARI, god made us in groups to get to know each other, the point of any friendly relationship is to benefit from each other in any way possible to the extent where it wouldn’t violate our commandments of Islam, marrying is one of those benefits. Also, there’s no such thing as “ORIGINAL” qatari or saudi or whatever, therefore, a person with no “roots” is a false definition and shouldn’t even exist. Qatar, like any other country on the Arabian Gulf is a political state established not too long ago. So, 200 years ago the name Qatar and Saudi did not even exist.

There is no doubt that there is a specific classification within our society. But this classification is not unique to Qatar. It exist everywhere in the world, even in Western and Asian civilizations. I think it is human nature to believe in such thing. Wasta too, exist everywhere. Even though we might think it is exclusive to our culture, but it is not.

However, it doesn’t make sense to me to say that someone has ‘no roots’. Everyone has roots, a place where they came from or a place that they belong. The issue is is this ‘root’ good enough for you?

These days I see tribes mix more and more. A bedouin family marries off their daughter to a black family, And another to Ajam (pure persians ). It always always a shock at the start to hear such stories, but the truth is, it is not of anyone’s business who marries who? At the end, those people will live their private lives behind closed doors.

Also, whether those people had ‘ original’ roots or not. They have been living on this land for many years and have contributed to the development of this nation. I don’t see how this could affect a knowledge-based economy.

For example familys from bany tameem come from najd wich is in saudi arabia today. By this we mean our origin started from there.

Second there are many other ways to have a healthy relationship other than marriage this can be through for example trade.

Thirdly the “originals” see that their roots are their wealth or treasure for example al fardan family originally comes from iran but are one of the richest famillies in doha and another family like al sulaitis that are from bany tameem which are original arabs in origin but are average not super rich or super poor. They will not accept a female al sulaiti marrying a male alfardan because then they will lose their treasure wich is their roots.

In the end its the culture that denys this. Even though we see originals marrying from other family just for its finnancial wealth. (Meaning golddiggers). Conservative and strict familys will never accept this wven though they have many relations with most famillies in qatar.

Dear Qatari,
I feel sorry for you ( and for your to raise children) to have this kind of backward mentality, Which is what the Prophet has warned us about… I feel also sorry for you that you consider tradition before religion. I will traumatize this to you but i hope its a good reality check but when you die ( God Forbid after a very long life) the first thing God is going to ask you about is not your family name, Your family name is not your ticket to heaven or hell. It is what you do and the behavior you have towards others, its questioning your faith…

The Prophet Mohammed (SAAW) (PBUH) Has Married women from different backgrounds and he was from Quraish a big Family tribe in mecca at the time ( one of his wives was Habshiya( Black ) ( he has been abandoned his own the exact tribe for mentality that you have which is equalizing a slave to a king is not acceptable in the way of life ( Including marriage) …

Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) fought this mentality for generations so that we don’t fall again into the same way of thinking that the Arab ( Aljahaliya) pre-Islam .. Unfortunately there are still people like you and the Jahliyat Al Arab ( Jahliya comes from the work Johol) which means in google translate Ignorance….
When his own people muslims started complaining two different ‘kind of people’ in his time as Muslims ( Muhajreen and Ansar ) He told them about discriminating “دعوها فإنها منتنة” … Im not a scholar to translate but it mean this stinks …

Im not here also to teach you about religion .. I am sure you are aware of all this but this is the basic of our religion..
If a lot of people like you think this way in Qatar this is a huge social defect that we need to acknowledge. Nasser regardless of his background gets discriminated from people like you who think they better because of your family , He has the right to speak about this because he is Qatari not because of his background and he has rights as much as you do it doesn’t make you a better person ..
It actually his mentality and other people mentality that makes them better than you.. The Saddest thing is you reasoned the Case of Al Fardan with Money..

What makes you ” Original” is your education and intellectual level, modesty and not the ”Roots” or ”Money” of someone..Some people have money and don’t event know how to treat people… That on the other hand makes your “FAKE”

Not only a brave stance on the part of the author but the conversation it has stimulated is even more telling of the fire this topic fuels. Patrimony is Qatar’s culture and that is not going to change anytime soon. Expatriots, especially coming from western cultures, reach the Gulf and immediately percieve a “cultural crisis” because the exterior of Qatar looks nothing like the orientalized image of Arabia. Instead you see tumors of modernization rising from the ground. A city that has no real identity, it could be a city anywhere. There is nothing unique about building skyscrapers, it has been done so many times. But it speaks volumes to the conflicted nature of the local population. The exterior an attempt to immulate modernity and the interior clings to what defines that nature, the age old customs of tribal affiliation. Napolean III attempted to do the same in the redesign of Paris during the 19th century. The city planners added new modern facades to old decrepit buildings. They invented packaging for marketing their goods and the fashion industry to equalize the divide between rich and poor. Looking at the paintings and photographs of 19th century Paris it is difficult to determine the bourgeois from the old money. It was fashionable to sit about street cafes in your fancy clothes as if there was not a care in the world. Everyone enjoying the life of the rich and privledged. The false exteriors, whether on buildings or packaging or clothing was the great equalizer, keeping those less equal from appearing so on the surface. The same phenomenon continues on in the 21st century. We the priveledged of Qatar have our fancy cars, clothes, giant houses, to make us feel as if we are somehow special while neighboring Arab and Persian states are in turmoil. The rich and the powerful in the world remain that way for a reason. That is why the majority of the wealth is contolled by 1% of the worlds population. The social systems are well in place to maintain the status quo. The article refers to the aspirations of the nation. But the question is, whose aspirations?

Girls from what you call “original” Qatari families might stay for years without marriage waiting for her cousin or one of the “passable tribes” to come along and propose.

And when a good man who is a Muslim that prays every day and have a successful job (who is actually a QATARI) come and propose he is denied simply just because of what you call “original roots”.

you are also saying that the so called original Qatari who might have no manners nor religious behavior has a better chance to marry the same girl then the guy i mentioned above in what world is that good?

it’s ether she is marrying an “original” or she stays home denying her to start a family.

Great article Nasser. I have been thinking about thia for a very long time and i think its one of the reasons that can hinder our progress to the prospors nation we aspire to be.

Qatari, it will take you sometimes to comprehend what everyone is saying. I really hope that you take time and think as a human being 1st without any cultural or religious influence. It will not be easy first, but you will later understand why tribalism should be faught by all.

Firstly, I am proud to see freedom of speech starting within our society. Each person has the rights to express what they want and what they think.

However, this article touched on different issues not just marriage! Howcome that this was the only issue that was discussed? The only thing that comes in mind is that there is still narrow minded people and of course that exists in most societies.

In my opinion, I am very proud of you Nasser and I hope I read more articles that you write.

It’s very unfortunate reading your comments. it’s more unfortunate that your sending the wrong message to many people living in this world, and it’s even more and more unfortunate that you will be raising your children with this mentality (which is not going to do them good in the near future) .

It seems that you have forgotten that we today live in the 21st Century in a world that is smaller than before and in a world that is becoming more and more sensitive and aware towards cultures.

to summarise my comment and many of the above comments i urge you to read the Quran and to read the explanation of this verse

Only then you will understand that Allah has mentioned this 1400+ years ago so people like you can elevate and raise towards the highest levels of humanity and to become a true messenger of your “God, Profit & Religion” then your tribe, culture, and nationality.

Its all good and nice ranting and raving about how unfair tribal segregation is in Qatar but. lets not make a mountain out of a molehill….I hope you accept what I will respectfully say with a pinch of salt..

Judging by your name you come from what Qataris know as non-tribal, and since you are addressing this issue, may I ask you why non-tribals deny their origins..namely being Persian? Why are they not proud to be Qatari but embrace the fact that they hail from Persia?…The Persian civilisation was in its peak while we the ‘tribals’ lived in mud houses in Najd!

In fact Ive had this chat with my non-tribal friend, who happens to be a very close and cherished friend of mine, and suggested that the more she allows her self to feel that she is not being accepted as ” pure Qatari” which in effect means not hailing from tribal Najd, the more she allows herself to be viewed as people who want to forget or are ashamed of their ancestry and history.

Seriously why don’t non-tribals say “Ok i’m originally from Iran and I am proud of my roots” Par example The African Americans did it, and because of that proud stance now enjoy a well deserved African-American pride, so again , why don’t non-tribal Qataris, or Kuwaitis or Bahrainis etc stop cringing from the fact pertaining to where they originated from and embrace it with a pride that will give them an immunity as described in the example just stated..

Think about it, If non-tribals did that, they will garner others respect. The simplest thing to say is “yes i’m originally from Iran or Iraq etc , both are great civilisations, and retort to us tribals that we originally are desert nomads ” I wouldn’t be offended one bit, I’m totally proud of my camel rearing heritage and I suggest that non-tribals should also embrace their origin with a similar pride….The issue at hand is not the lack of being accepted, the issue is that non-tribals don’t accept their heritage with pride imho.

On another note, which I disagree with you on, is your claim is your saying that ” it is ultimately his/her tribal affiliation, which will create the required wasta.”

Because many ‘tribals’ such as myself am living testament to a different story. I suggest readers get acquainted with which sectors are controlled by whom, you will find that HR in almost all sectors heavily employed and guarded by the “non-tribals” of the Qatari nation..in my experience and many like myself who have had to jump through hoops of fire to get employed because non-tribals make it near impossible for tribals to get employed!

The only reason I managed to get employed is when after the insistence of the American employer interviewed me (and now happens to be my line manager) nominated me for the position I now hold based on my merit and skills. She had to wrestle an HR mafia riddled with non-tribals to push my employment papers through!

You want to know the irony? After I joined my department to do some hard work and live up to the expectations of my line manager and our nation of me, I was dumbfounded to find that the office employees majority were non-tribals too…and I raise my right hand and swear (in Ramadhan) most of them have taken extended leave – I’m guessing their extended leave (with pay) was signed off by their non-tribal brethren in HR and because of that, I am left to pick up the slack..Now THATS ‘wasta’ for you!

Is there an official list of ‘original’ Qataris? I only ask because the issue of origin is a difficult one; what generation must you be to be considered ‘originally’ anywhere? A second generation Irish-American would be considered American to most, while a second, third, or fourth generation Korean-American would still be considered Asian-American. The reason? Racism. It’s because an Irish-American belongs, in the collective conscious, to the ‘white’ race (completely invented btw, the Irish weren’t considered ‘white’ for a long time). It’s an arbitrary distinction based on phenotypic manifestations. I’m going to repeat that because it’s important. It’s an arbitrary distinction based on phenotypic manifestations. In Qatar those phenotypic manifestations are impossible to detect so the indicator of origin is the family name. Qatar is no ‘melting pot’, and being Qatari is an exceptional privilege, so it’s no wonder that our people here have attempted to secure the wealth of the nation to as few people as possible. Who’s to say that if you, Tribal Qatari Girl, became an extremely influential wuazeer (haha probably not but just follow me on this) that you would just take away the passports of the Al Naama’s because they aren’t ‘originally’ Qatari? The whole point of deciding who’s ‘originally’ Qatari is really to decide who ‘deserves’ the privileges that Qatari’s get from our vast reserves of natural gas. Which reveals another point, I think, and this one is going to be hard for you to accept. You don’t think you are equal to your Qatari/Persian friend. You think you deserve the advantages of being Qatari more than her because your origins hail from Saudi Arabia. You think your friend is a moocher; a parasite in other terms. And that seems to me like a very ugly friendship indeed.

I believe the question was not who is better or citizens keigindlly ftom pedsia are denying their background . And if us not being intra background marriage although it might be a not scored practice

The question is why and how tribalism affects any potential development of the nation . Because the opportunitues are not made available on equal basis and the best man is not given the chance to get the post regardless of where his ancestors come from.

@ Alhashimi – Tribalism doesn’t effect a nation moving forward, on the contrary you need only look at how marriages of convenience in historical treaties amongst nations, not just in Europe but all over the world and especially here in the Arabian Gulf, we are a tribal nation and this is the foundations of our collective unity. You will never see a ruling figure marry from outside its tribal community and this is what keeps the people secure.

On whose authority or proof can you even raise such an incredulous claim that tribalism thwarts progress…read our history, the history of the Arabian Gulf and you will find that tribalism is the instrumental factor that glues us as a nation. Loyalty is a given when you have a past to build on…This is in regards to autocracies…we the people of all Arabian Gulf countries love our leaders because of our interwoven past, and you need only look at how ‘ democracies’ in neighbouring states brought them chaos and destruction. If this is what you readers or commentators aim to preach by piggy backing off the article owners sore feelings because he is unable to embrace his past with pride, then its a weak argument.

Lets call a spade a spade when we see one (no pun intended to those of colour 😉

I suppose the false presumption on your part is that this nation has amounted to anything within the context of tribalism. While I certainly don’t agree to the limited nature of the article I find it absurd for you to suggest that by some miracle the nature of our discriminatory inclinations will somehow be replaced by pride at another’s admission of ‘non-originality.’
How for the life of me do you equate what is happening in Qatar to Afro-American suffrage, it makes absolutely no sense when you consider how different Qatar is to the segregated America of the 1950’s.
By the way, don’t dismiss another persons baseless opinions by providing baseless opinions of your own. You also mention the authors sore feelings, qualify what you write without indicating that you have sore feelings of your own next time.

Thank you @tribal qatari girl for saying what I was thinking in those words… (My english needs a little dusting since everyone thinks in attacking them)
I also talked to a “non-original qatari about this and when i asked her whats your origin she straight up accepted and told me ya im originally a persian. The whole point of this article is based on what he is not accepting within him unfortunatley. We always see these types of articles or scenarios where deep within we find lack of acceptance.

And I hope that in the future everyone (talking about everything in general) accepts who they are, where theyre from, and what they have or forever will hatred and jealousy roam which will lead to many negative things in the future.

Great article. I applaud your efforts in fighting tribalism. Tribalism can lead people to feel that they are acting towards a larger cause (they’re tribe’s pride) and have them act with higher roles. But where religion, nationalism, and individualism substitute this role, it seems that tribalism only creates divides in society; an issue plaguing the entirety of the Arab world.

Alemadi thanks for pointing out such a retarded cultural behaviour. Ppl evolve and I hope one day soon we will.

Ps: as my name states im from the core of whats called “ibin asil” and I find talking about origins and tribs silly. Im amazed how sm ppl think they are better than others caus they come from “tribal” name. Its who you are as humans and what good we do in this life that defines you.

How sad is it that the one thing that should unite us, our nationality, is the same thing that divides us.

I’m devastated by how some commenters chose to attack the writer’s “roots.” He’s Qatari. He’s human. He’s one of us. We all share the same ancestry. No one is better than anyone because of their supposed roots.

We practice it all the time. We may live in denial but we should be brave enough to admit it. Some might try hard to find a socially accepted term for it but this is just the nature of our shallow self centered mentality !
It starts at home nurtured by our parents, guaranteed and protected by the system.
Count me as one, at least as being passive.